Northwest Stamper

Tag: stampin’ up

  • Fun & Easy Birthday Card with Banner Greetings

    imageWhat do you think of when you see a stamp set that is full

    of stamp images that look like flags? 

    Well, I imagined banners, but don’t ask me why, but I never thought to make little flags with it.  But, thank goodness for other creative stampers out there!

    My mom created this card and when I saw it, I thought it was a brilliant way to use these stamps!

    She stamped the Happy Birthday image twice (once in Island Indigo and once in Tangerine Tango) and then cut them out and attached them to the ends of toothpicks.  Voila!  You have adorable flags for your projects!

    tip: to adhere the banners to toothpicks, I recommend using the Tombow Liquid Glue along the straight edge of the stamped image.  You can also leave some extra white paper to the left of the stamped image and roll that around the toothpick to create your flag as well.

    And yes – you have to cut these out by hand.  Sorry. Smile 

    Tuck them behind a piece of the Natural Trim ribbon and you can’t even see the ends of your toothpicks and the tape or glue you had to use to adhere them to your card front.

    Card Supplies Used:
    Stamps – Banner Greetings
    Ink – Island Indigo, Tangerine Tango
    Paper – Tangerine Tango cardstock, Whisper White cardstock, Quatrefancy specialty designer paper
    Accessories – Natural Trim ribbon, toothpicks

    Now the only catch with this stamp set is that you can only order it using Hostess dollars.  So, basically you can only earn it as a free stamp set instead of just ordering it off the website.  However, you have a few options for getting it:

    1. Host a private class or workshop and collect $150 or more in orders
    2. Place a $150 order yourself
    3. Join my Stamp Club and earn it free your hosting month

    ~OR~

    Get it free if you join in my Everyone’s a Winner Event by this Sunday, 6-23-13!  Then you’ll only need to place a $100 order or workshop and you’ll get $26 in hostess benefits free!

     

    Just let me know that you want your own set and we’ll figure out getting it for you right away!  Just shoot me an email at jennifer@nwstamper.com and we’ll do it!

     

  • Frosted Glass Butterfly Technique and Card

    As I get ready for Monday’s Terrific Techniques: Fun with Washi class, I was looking over a card I made recently using the Best of Butterflies stamp set.  (You know, because it was one of my few samples right now that uses washi)

    I was playing with Vellum and thought it would be really pretty to create a softly colored butterfly image.  Its super easy to do too!

    All you have to do is:

    1. Stamp your image on Vellum using Stazon Ink
    2. Flip over your Vellum paper (so inked side is down) and start coloring using markers. 
      I recommend coloring with your darker color first because the first color you ink will be the top layer you see when you flip over the stamped image.
    3. Cut out your image
    4. Adhere to your card base using a glue dot behind part of your image that is solid black.

    And TA-DA!  You have a totally cool looking butterfly!

     

    Stampin’ Up Supplies Used:
    Stamps – Best of Butterflies, Seasonal Sayings
    Ink – Stazon, Crumb Cake, Calypso Coral, Daffodil Delight marker, Pumpkin Pie marker, Cajun Craze marker
    Paper – Calypso Coral cardstock, Very Vanilla cardstock, Vellum cardstock
    Accessories – This and That washi tape, Glue dots

     

    spaced shop now sig bar

  • Colorful Flower using the Mosaic Punch & Pressed Clay

    imageOk, I’ll admit it.  I wasn’t sold on the Pressed Clay when Stampin’ Up! announced it’s release during the demonstrator preorder in advance of the new Annual Catalog launch.  I kept hearing people get all excited about it but I didn’t order it because I couldn’t see myself actually using it.

    Wanna know what just showed up in my recent order? 

    Yup, that is right!  The clay!

    My mom, Kathy Thisted, ordered the clay and molds during the preorder and so I figured I’d make one or two to samples to show.  But I found once I got started playing it, I had a hard time stopping. ha ha!  Its kind of like being 5 again and playing with play doh.  Once you get started there are endless possibilities of what you can create!

    So while I haven’t gotten all my experiments photographed, I had to share with you one cool sample that she shared with me recently.  Check it out:

    Its this cool mashup of a bunch of new products in ways I never would have thought to do (isn’t that why sharing is awesome?!)  She took the Mosaic punch to punch out the petals and then stamped each one with the Mosaic Madness stamp set.  Then she dyed some Simply Pressed Clay with Daffodil Delight reinker and pressed it into the flower mold to create the pretty center.  Creative, no?

    Card Supplies used:
    Stamps – Mosaic Madness, Field Flowers, Sweet Essentials
    Ink – Whisper White, Wild Wasabi, Baked Brown Sugar, Daffodil Delight reinker
    Paper – Soft Sky, Coastal Cabana, Strawberry Slush, Baked Brown Sugar, Pistachio Pudding, Crisp Cantaloupe
    Accessories – Simply Pressed Clay, Buttons & Blossoms Clay Molds, Stampin’ Dimensionals, Bone Folder

     

    So if you haven’t tried out the clay yet, you totally should!  Its easier to work with than I expected and has tons of potential.  I’ll try to get photos taken but I’ve seen:

    • Coloring with a marker
    • Multiple color coloring
    • Using the molds
    • Creating an impression with stamps
    • Creating an impression with a decorative brad
    • Turning molded images into brads
    • Creating a shiny accent with Crystal Effects
    • Heat embossing the finished embellishment

    And I’m sure there are more ideas I haven’t even seen or come up with yet!

    So, leave a comment with your ideas if you have been playing or pick up some clay today and start experimenting!

  • New 2013 Stampin’ Up! Color Comparisons

    Have you seen the new colors that have come out and found yourself wondering “Isn’t Smoky Slate the same as the retired Going Grey?” or “Is that Strawberry Slush really that pink?” 

    I’ve always loved seeing what the new colors look like compared to the other colors in the Stampin’ Up! family (to help me get a feel for what the colors are really like).  And with us gaining 10 new core colors this month plus the 5 new In Colors, I thought there might be a lot of wondering going on. 

    So, I grabbed my new colors and then similar colors (current and retired) and photographed the spectrums for you so you could get a feel how the new colors fit in.  (sorry I missed the yellows and purples so I don’t have Crushed Curry or Wisteria Wonder up, but I should have everything else!)

    Greys

    New colors shown:  Smoky Slate

    Reds

    New colors shown: Strawberry Slush

    Oranges

    New colors shown: Crisp Cantaloupe, Blushing Bride, Calypso Coral

    Greens

    New colors shown: Pear Pizzazz, Pistachio Pudding

    Light Blues

    New colors shown: Pool Party, Soft Sky

    Blues

    New colors shown: Island Indigo, Bermuda Bay, Coastal Cabana

    Browns

    New colors shown: Baked Brown Sugar

     

    So, I hope that was helpful!  If you have any questions or need any other comparison pictures just let me know!

    And if you find yourself needing one of those new colors, you can pick them up today through the Online Store!  Or even better, get them free as part of my Everyone’s a Winner event! 

     

  • Elegant Embossed Vellum Card

    Its been a busy week and I’m suddenly realizing how much I still need to catch up on!  I’ve been reorganizing my craft room to make space for all the new catalog goodies that just came in…of course in the process I’ve discovered items that I forgot I had and really need to use more!  One of those items is Vellum! 

    I have had a pack sitting on my shelf for a while and had completely forgotten about it, so a few weeks ago, I ran a Terrific Techniques class all about Vellum.  This card was one of my favorites from the class:

    You start out by running a piece of vellum through your Big Shot with an embossing folder (in this case I used the Flower Garden embossing folder).  Then on the back side of your vellum, I grabbed my Sponge Daubers and sponged my colors as if to color in the embossed image.

    The cool thing is that by sponging the back side of your vellum, it gives a pretty, soft glow to the front of your image.  And when you think you have made it too dark on the back, it turns out to be just perfect on the front!

    Adhere your vellum to the front of your card by glueing it to the front of a white cardbase and add a strip of patterned paper to the edge for an accent.

    I finished it off by punching out a sentiment from the fabulous Petite Pairs stamp set and sponging it with the same Wisteria Wonder sponge dauber I used for coloring in the back of the flowers.  And if you don’t have this stamp set yet, don’t forget it is available for 25% off until June 30th!

     

    image

    Check out all the greeting stamp sets that are available in the June 25% off sale!

    So grab your vellum and embossing folders and experiment with what fun designs you can create. Smile

  • Free Stamps for Everyone! Join my $1000 Workshop Event

    I was talking with some friends this week about how I was closer than I’ve ever been before to earning the Getaway Incentive trip from Stampin’ Up! this year.  …Wait, that should be said with a little more enthusiasm… I’m getting close to earning the Incentive Trip this year!!  Smile

    With the Stampin’ Up! year winding down this month, I knew it would be a stretch but I had hope that with 2 more weeks of the quarter to go I would be able to bring in some more sales or have a couple of gals on my demonstrator team promote, since a few are super close (you go girls!)

    Well, one of my friends shared with me a really cool idea for a $1000 workshop and I am so excited to share it with you!

    The Everyone’s a Winner Event!

    If you love FREE STUFF and want the perks of being a Stampin’ Up! hostess without the fuss of planning anything, then check this out!

     

     

    How does it work?  It’s easy!

    1. Check out the new Annual catalog and start building your wishlist.  Then share the catalog with your friends and family so they can start putting together their wishlist too.
    2. Send me your order of $100 or more, or enter it online using the hostess code (HGTANH33)
    3. You get FREE STUFF!

    Normally, you need to purchase $150 in order to receive $25 in free hostess product.  By combining like this, EVERYONE is a winner!  Everyone will receive EITHER $26 in product OR one 1/2 price item!  WOW! This is so cool!

    I’m In!  Now what do I do?

    Get your order in anytime between today and Sunday, June 23. There are several ways you can turn your order in to me:

    1.  Shop online in my online store (here).
    After you place your order, you will be asked if you have a hostess code.  At that point you will need to put the hostess code in:  HGTANH33.  After completing your order, send me an email and let me know what you want for hostess dollars ($26) or what you would like to have for your 1/2 price item, depending on which hostess benefit is drawn for your name. Once all 10 hostesses have ordered, I will draw the winners of either the 1/2 price item, or the hostess dollars and order them. As soon they arrive I will get them out to you! The biggest advantage in ordering this way is that your order will come straight to you! Also, you can order this way even if you are across the country, or not anywhere local to me!  Yippee! When you order online with the hostess code, your order is delivered to you!

    OR

    2.  Send your order to me in an email (jennifer@nwstamper.com), and I will place it for you.  Be sure to indicate what your choices are for either the $26 hostess dollars or the 1/2 price offer.  Depending on what hostess benefit is drawn for your name, I will order your hostess benefits, and let you know when your order is ready.

    happy girlEVERYONE WILL BE A WINNER!!

    (Prizes are based on ten $100 (or more!) orders. Prizes MAY increase or decrease depending on how many are participating. I will place the names of all participants in a hat and pick winners.

    • 6 people will receive $26.00 in free merchandise from the current Catalog.
      That’s better than having a $150.00 workshop~ for only $100.00!!!
      And have you seen the hostess stamp sets?  I think they are the best yet!  And you can only get them with Hostess Dollars!
    • 4 people will get a half price item of choice.
      You could get a Big Shot for half price … a $50.00 savings,
      or a set of Stampin’ Write Markers at half price saving over $54.00,
      or a whole family of the new stamp pads for half price..saving $25.00,
      or the Big Shot Alphabet dies for a savings of $45!  WOW!

    Don’t miss out on this wonderful opportunity to be a hostess without having to clean your house and make snacks, or without having to order $150 of product!  Sit back and look through the catalog and share it with friends.

    NOTE:  Once there are 10 $100 hostesses, we will get a new HOSTESS CODE for the online orders.  So, watch for that information.

    So, I hope you can join me and a BIG THANK YOU to everyone who is supporting me and helping me get closer to earning the incentive trip as well!  Smile

     

  • Dress Shirt Card for Dad

    You would think that for all the stamping classes I run and projects I make for swapping and my blog, I would always be prepared for holidays.  Ha!  They sneak up on me like my 3 yr old when I think he is taking a nap and jump out at me at the last minute.  Thankfully, I got a head start this year and have a card all ready for Dad when I see him on Sunday. 

    I’ve been dying to try out those cool dress shirt cards and thought this would be a perfect excuse to try one out.  My first attempt left me with a shirt that covered the entire front of the card, but I wasn’t feeling it.  So, I adjusted my measurements until I came up with this:

    The shirt was super simple to make… you just take a rectangle out of cardstock and cut two slits in from each side and fold down the flaps to make the collar.  Here are the dimensions I used for this card:

    image

    I wanted a little bit of texture and so I grabbed some of my Pool Party Core’dintations cardstock for the shirt.  Normally I sand down this paper but I liked it for that subtle texture it provided.  

    For the rest of the shirt, I hand drew and cut the tie.  I didn’t realize that most people when they create these cards, have a template they have created for themselves for the tie!  So, I made myself a template and hoped it didn’t look too lopsided. Smile 

    Add a few silver mini brads and ta-da!  The shirt is done!

    Card supplies used:
    Stamps – Delightful Dozen
    Ink – Island Indigo, Tangerine Tango marker
    Paper – Whisper White cardstock, Island Indigo cardstock, Pool Party Core’dinations cardstock, Quatrefancy specialty designer series paper
    Accessories – Big Shot, Stripes embossing folder, Piercing tool, Silver mini brads, Paper snips

    So if you need a quick Father’s Day card idea, try this one out.  It is fast and easy, and quickly customizable to any colors or patterns you want!

    Give it a try and then stop by my facebook page and let me know how yours turned out!  And let me know if you come up with a better way to do the tie other than freestyle!

     

  • Using Punches to Create a Fun, Colorful Bookmark

    Each year when the new Stampin’ Up! catalog comes out, they release the latest set of In Colors.  So, I usually figure that when I’m sending out my catalogs to customers that it would be nice for them to see what these new colors look like in person.  So I create a little bookmark to show off the different colors.

    This is what I came up with for this year:

    2013 In Color Bookmark with Mosaic Punch

    I had just gotten the Mosaic Madness stamp set, Mosaic punch, and Mosaic embossing folder.  Plus of course the new In Colors:
    Crisp Canteloupe, Coastal Cabana, Baked Brown Sugar, Pistachio Pudding, and Strawberry Slush.

    Oh, and I had to throw in there the new core color – Smoky Slate as well. Smile  I mean, if you are going to play with some new products, why not jam as may new things as you can on your project!

    And this is what it looks like when you are trying to mass produce 36 copies of a bookmark like this:

    2013 In Color Bookmark pieces

    Let me just say that was A LOT of punching!

    But I love how they turned out and if I end up with one left, I may just mount it on a card for another fun use of the bookmark.

    Still need a new catalog?  Shoot me an email at jennifer@nwstamper.com or let me know with my catalog request form and I’ll get one in the mail to you right away!  Plus, you’ll get one of these cute bookmarks too!

     

  • Just Wanted to Say You’re Amazing!

    No seriously, you are! As I think back to how my life has evolved and changed over the last few years – between major moves and babies and family adventures; I love that I’ve always had my friends and stamping community there for support and to keep me sane!  From friends in facebook groups to my fellow Stampin’ Up! demos, I always feel like I have somewhere to turn when I need support or a pick-me-up.

    And you are part of that stamping family & community and for every layout you make, project you share, card you send; you are making the day that much brighter.  And so I think you are amazing!

    You're Amazing Masculine card with bleaching

    And just a little close up for those of you curious about the paper… this card is from my Misting & Masking technique class and we used bleach in a spritz bottle to spray some Marina Mist cardstock to get this cool look.  Then layouer our sentiment over the top in vellum so you can see it peeking through for a fun effect.

    Close up of bleaching technique

     

    So think about who has been amazing to you in your life and take a minute to tell them!  Send them a card or just give them an extra hug.  You’ll brighten their day like they brighten yours. Smile

     

  • Playing with Photopolymer Stamps

    The stamping world has had Photopolymer stamps for quite a while and I used to try to play with my “completely clear” stamps.  I love the idea that I could see totally through the stamp so that I knew precisely where I was stamping.  However, I discovered that not all clear stamps are created equal.  I have some that have turned yellow on me (even without me using them… gasp! I know, right? how can you have stamps that never get inky? Winking smile) and I have some that frustrated me because I couldn’t get a crisp image no matter what I tried.

    Well, Stampin’ Up! held off while they tried to figure out a formula for making these stamps without some of these issues.  Then they started coming out with their own designs.  So, I decided to give them a shot and then thought I’d share what I did.

    I grabbed the Designer Typeset stamp set, which was the first set they came out with.  See, this is what it looks like when you get it…. no box, just a ton of cute little clear stamps in a plastic sleeve.

    designer typeset photopolymer stamps

    And out of the sleeve….Designer Typeset photopolymer stamps

    Then I set to work and created this as one of my first cards:

    designer typeset photopolymer thank you card

    I know, it is totally simple, but it gave me a chance to experiment and learn a few things… like:

    • Don’t be afraid to bend your stamps!
      If they can bend and stay on the block, then it is perfectly fine to stamp them that way.  If they won’t stay on the block, you’ve bent it too far. Smile
    • Be prepared and ok that your stamped lines aren’t going to be super thin
      When you push on the stamp to transfer your ink to paper, the photopolymer compresses and stretches a little, so you get slightly fatter lines than you maybe expected.
    • If you have the letters, lay them out on your paper for placement – THEN push the block down on them to ink up.
      So in this case, I stamped the banners first.  Then I laid out my letters in exactly the spot I wanted them to be on my banner.  How to line up letters with photopolymer stamps on a card
      THEN I pressed my clear block down on top of the letters.   That way I could ink them up all at the same time and stamp knowing they would go exactly where I wanted them to go!

    How to line up letters with photopolymer stamps

    • The juicier the ink pad the better!
      Yes I know, it goes without saying… but still.  I did see slight differences when I used my old style ink pads with my new ink pads.

    photopolymer stamps ink pad comparison

     

    If you want to see more tips, check out this video I made all about the Photopolymer stamps:

    If you can’t see the video, check out the direct link here.

    So, if you think it is something fun to try and play with, Stampin’ Up! just came out with their 5th photopolymer stamp set – Wanderlust.  But here is the complete list:

     

    Wanderlust photopolymer stamp set

     

     

    I still love my rubber stamps… but I definitely think completely clear stamps have a place in my stamp room too!

  • Farewell to One Of The Most Versatile Stamps!

    Back when I ran my new catalog retiring stamps prediction contest, I had people guessing that the Delightful Decorations stamp set would retire.  I thought, “No Way!”  This stamp set has been great for more than just Christmas so I figured that for sure it was saying. 

    Sadly, they were right and I was wrong.  Both Delightful Decorations & the Ornament Punch are retiring!  (Though at least the punch is 25% off!)

    imageimage

    So, today is a walk down memory lane of some of my favorite cards using this stamp set.  First up, a recent card that we made at my Fabric Technique class. 

    I die-cut out 4 flowers using the Floral Framelits and folded them together to make this cute flower.  But every flower needs a vase and the ornament stamp/punch with the bottom point trimmed off works just perfect!  The stamp set also contains that cool dotted circle that I used for my background.  See…totally doesn’t have to be Christmas. 

    Flower Card Supplies:
    Stamps: Delightful Decorations**, Lovely & Lacy
    Ink:  Chocolate Chip, Lucky Limeade** pad and marker
    Paper:  Lucky Limeade**, Very Vanilla, Rose Red
    Accessories:  Flirtatious designer fabric, Big Shot, Floral Frames framelits, Ornament Punch**, In Color Brads**, 1 3/4” Scallop circle punch, Sponge Dauber
    ** indicates item retiring on 6/3/2013

    Next up… how about a fish?

    I love how you can turn the punch on its side and make it be a cute punch art fish.  If you are curious which punches I used for this card and how I put it together, you can check out the blog post here – Fish Punch Art.

    And yes, Christmas too!

    Of course, just because I don’t have to use it for Christmas, of course it is perfect for Christmas tags and cards too.  This simple card was one of my favorites from my holiday collection.

    I hope you enjoyed my stroll down memory lane….I think I’m off to give my set some love. Smile  And if you don’t have this set yet, make sure you pick it up by tomorrow before its gone!  Shop the retirement lists online here.

     

  • New Catalog Weekend & Stamps are on Sale!

    Sometimes I hear about the promotions that will be starting up in the near future, and sometimes I log into the Stampin’ Up! website for demonstrators and I’m surprised by a new sale that is being announced.  I figured that since we have the two big catalogs out this weekend that there would be no way they would have anything extra….. WRONG!

    I was so EXCITED because Stampin’ Up! is offering 3 fabulous greeting stamp sets for 25% off!

    Grab-Your-Greetings-Flyer_s

     

    Now, I already love the Petite Pairs stamp set…I love it for cards like this:

    or this:

     

    But I’ve been wistfully eyeing the Sweet Essentials since it came out last year and I think between the retirement of my beloved Curly Cute and this sale, I think this will be the weekend I finally get it!

    So check your wishlist and if Petite Pairs, Sassy Salutations, or Sweet Essentials are on there, enjoy snapping them up for a fab deal!

    Product Share Reminder:

    I also wanted to mention that if you were interested in one of my product shares, please make sure you have let me know this weekend so I can enough supplies for everyone!  You can check out all the options and details here – Get your New Catalog Product Samples Here or grab a copy of the PDF with pictures:

    2013 Stampin' Up Annual Catalog Product Shares

    Get the Available Product Samplers PDF

    Have a fun & inky weekend!